


Old Dogs

by mattygroves



Series: Here in California 'Verse [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Just take a lesson from a top-notch surfer boy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7285381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattygroves/pseuds/mattygroves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John and Rodney go surfing. It goes about as well for Rodney as can be expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Dogs

“That’s disgusting,” Rodney said a few days after the picnic, eyeing John’s salad suspiciously. “Peaches, almonds, and avocado? No wonder this state is running out of water with the way you eat.”

“I’m a growing boy,” John said plaintively. “You should try it, you might like it.”

“No thanks, I think I’ve tried enough new things in the last few days to last me quite awhile.”

John quirked his eyebrow, “Was I your first guy?” Rodney squirmed a little across the table, and said, “Sort of.”

“Well, I’m honored,” John grinned slightly, his ears turning red. He quickly turned his attention back to his salad like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“I’m not very good at this,” Rodney said. “Dating and, um, relationships.”

“Me neither,” John said.

Rodney waited for the inevitable “Let’s just keep this casual,” but instead John said, “But I wanna try it with you, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah,” Rodney said, almost too fast, “Yeah, that’s okay.”

“Good.”

John liked to drive the hour or so to the beach a couple times a week to surf. Livermore, being inland, was much hotter during the summer than the coast, so it was a relief to escape the hundred-degree weather when he could. If it was a weekend, Rodney came with him, armed with SPF 70, a large umbrella, and a stack of physics journals. But he would mostly end up watching John. John had offered to teach him to surf a few times, but had let it go when Rodney was adamant.

One evening, Teyla, a friend of John’s from the gym, invited them to join her family at the park for a showing of Star Wars. After a couple hours in low beach chairs, they limped back up the street.

“Oh my god, when did I get so old?” Rodney clutched his back.

John manfully tried to ignore the twinge in his hip that went down his thigh. Maybe he would skip the run tomorrow.

“This can’t be it,” Rodney continued, sitting gingerly in the Adirondack chair on John’s porch, “I refuse to go downhill from here.”

John grabbed a couple beers from the fridge before sitting next to him. He had learned it was best to just let Rodney rant when the mood took him.

“Maybe,” Rodney said slowly, “You can teach me to surf sometime. On very, very small waves. Child size waves.”

“Yeah, I could do that,” John said with a grin.

“Don’t get cocky, kid.”

“Oh, you think you’re the Han Solo in this relationship?”

That argument ended in bed, where they discussed the finer points of each side until falling into an exhausted sleep.

The next weekend, John strapped a long board he’d borrowed to the top of his old Subaru. He‘d bought it used when he moved to California, racks included. Rodney was silent the whole way there, steeling himself for certain death. John sang along to an old country playlist he’d found on Spotify.

The gentle brown hills gave way to green as they neared the coast. Then the green gave way to rugged gold and grey as John pulled into a dirt turnout with a few wooden steps down to the sand. Rodney insisted on slathering with sunscreen all parts of him not covered by knee length swim trunks and a short sleeved rash guard. Then he had to wait the allotted ten minutes to let it soak in. 

He insisted he needed time to adjust to the water’s temperature and the gentle waves gradually, but John got impatient and tackled him into the shallow water. Rodney retaliated with a giant, direct splash, then sulked for awhile. When they finally got around to actually surfing, John coached him patiently for an hour or so, but Rodney still kept losing his balance and eating it after a few seconds. Exhausted and ready to quit, John coaxed him into giving it one more try.

Rodney wiped the water from his eyes and mumbled under his breath, but he took the board and situated himself on top of it. John held on until a wave started to swell behind them, then he gave a little push.

“Stand up, stand up!” he called, and Rodney did. 

And he rode the wave almost all the way to shore before overthinking it and losing his balance. John slogged through the water to where Rodney was just standing up. 

“You did it, buddy,” John smiled, tackling him in a hug and kissing him on the temple.

“Yes, I did, didn’t I?” Rodney said, pleased with himself.

“Wanna try again?”

“I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.”

“I’ll just take a few runs, then, and we can go get a victory burger on the way home.”

When they got back in the car, John played “Catch a Wave” by the Beach Boys until Rodney threatened to throw his phone onto the highway.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone who liked the first one, I couldn't help but continue with these adorable dorks :)


End file.
